Do You Remember That Root Ninja You Once Defeated?

Under the eager gazes of everyone present, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally appeared at the examination venue.

His arrival immediately sparked thunderous cheers. Though he was already old, he remained immensely popular in Konohagakure.

After all, nothing pleased him more than giving speeches at the Ninja Academy.

And he especially enjoyed personally handing out Forehead Protectors to the children who graduated.

"So, it's finally starting."

The moment Fugaku Uchiha saw the Third Hokage appear, his spirits lifted. To be honest, his feelings toward the Third Hokage were rather complicated.

He had originally held high hopes for the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. His relationship with the Fourth had been fairly good as well.

With the Fourth Hokage around, he believed the relationship between Konohagakure and the Uchiha could have eased, perhaps even allowing the two sides to truly integrate.

Unfortunately, heaven envied genius. The Fourth Hokage had already passed away.

Although the Third Hokage had his own intentions, the Nine-Tailed Fox Incident and everything that followed had shown that he did not trust them as much as the Fourth had.

"But there will always be another chance. Shisui is our hope, and perhaps Itachi can be as well in the future."

Fugaku Uchiha thought to himself as Hiruzen Sarutobi began to speak.

"Since everyone is here, let us begin the assessment."

Most of those taking the assessment were experienced ninjas, so Hiruzen Sarutobi did not waste words and directly announced the examination rules.

The Chunin Exams were not all that complicated. The earlier rounds had already eliminated nearly everyone who needed to be eliminated.

The final assessment primarily tested combat ability, and there was plenty of flexibility in how that was judged.

Victory was not strictly necessary. As long as one performed outstandingly and demonstrated the qualities expected of a chunin, they could pass.

Soon, the order of the matches was decided by drawing lots, and the first examinee was Itachi Uchiha!

"That certainly saves me some trouble."

Hidezawa, standing beside Hiruzen Sarutobi, did not delay in the slightest and walked directly into the Training Ground.

"Examinee Itachi Uchiha, please come forward."

However, his appearance immediately stirred up quite a bit of controversy.

"That's an examiner?"

"He's so young?"

"Hey, wasn't he specially arranged for the Uchiha?"

Though age could not be used to determine a ninja's strength, older ninjas generally possessed far more combat experience.

Even if my strength isn't as good as yours, could my combat experience possibly be worse?

"These people are seriously underestimating Hidezawa, aren't they?"

Yugao, who was also watching from within the crowd, immediately felt displeased. She knew Hidezawa's strength all too well.

"Hidezawa really is strong. It's just that no one knows it."

Tenzō agreed from the side. After leaving Root, he had gradually adapted to his new life, and he needed more friends as well.

To him, Hidezawa, who had also "left Root," was naturally a good friend!

"I heard that ever since Hidezawa began carrying out missions, he's already killed—"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Before he could finish, Kakashi interrupted him from the side.

"Don't talk about the details of those missions. Besides, we're Anbu. It's normal for people not to know."

Kakashi was off duty today as well, and he had come here of his own accord to avoid being bothered by Guy.

Now, he was glad he had come. If Tenzō kept talking nonsense like that, who knew what sort of bad consequences it might cause?

"Big brother! Go!"

"Itachi, go!"

When Sasuke and Izumi Uchiha saw that Hidezawa seemed only slightly older than Itachi Uchiha, they immediately became excited and kept cheering for Itachi.

Itachi smiled and nodded at them before quickly stepping onto the platform.

Once he was on the platform, however, the smile had vanished from his face, replaced by a composure utterly mismatched with his age.

"Senior, please instruct me."

He bowed deeply and spoke earnestly.

Although Hidezawa looked only a little older than him, Itachi did not dare underestimate him in the slightest.

After all, his beloved older brother Shisui had repeatedly warned him that he absolutely had to take Hidezawa seriously.

Shisui had even said things along the lines of, "Even if I fought Hidezawa, my odds of winning might not be very high."

Itachi knew quite well how strong his beloved older brother was. For Shisui to describe Hidezawa that way already proved just how formidable Hidezawa was.

Besides, he had every reason to take this extremely seriously!

"Oh, you're quite polite."

Hidezawa raised a brow and said with a smile.

"But your eyes tell me that you seem to want to defeat me?"

"Yes, Senior."

Itachi Uchiha did not deny it. His gaze swept over his family cheering for him in the crowd before he answered seriously.

"I have reasons why I don't want to lose, and an assessment naturally calls for giving it everything I have."

For his younger brother, Itachi Uchiha felt he could give up everything.

Besides, his wonderful big brother Shisui was watching, his friend Izumi was cheering him on, and his parents were all here. He did not want to disappoint any of them.

Fortunately, Hidezawa did not know what he was thinking. Otherwise, he would most likely have asked: Is that why you killed them?

"Looks like your whole family gets along pretty well."

Hidezawa suddenly revealed a wicked smile. However, without waiting for Itachi Uchiha to say anything, he nodded and said, "The assessment does indeed require you to go all out. Actually, I'd like to as well, but Shisui kept asking me not to hurt you.

"Forget it. You're just a kid anyway, and I'm the examiner. It's only natural for you to give it everything you have."

"..."

Itachi Uchiha fell silent for a moment. You don't seem to be much older than me, do you?

"The examiner and contestant are in position. Then, let the match begin!"

Fortunately, the Third Hokage spoke at that moment. As soon as his words fell, the entire examination venue erupted into enthusiastic cheers.

"Senior, please guide me."

Itachi Uchiha's eyes immediately transformed into Sharingan. The tomoe within his scarlet eyes slowly rotated as he formed the Seal of Confrontation.

"Then let's begin."

Hidezawa shrugged and leisurely pulled out a kunai.

He had already figured out how to complete the mission. It was troublesome, but truly not difficult for him.

Whoosh—

In an instant, Hidezawa charged forward, arriving directly before Itachi Uchiha like a phantom!

"Hngh!"

Itachi Uchiha's previously composed expression abruptly changed. His wonderful big brother had told him that Hidezawa was exceptionally fast.

But he had never expected him to be so fast that his eyes could see him, while his body could not react at all!

A punch shot out, and the fierce wind from it made Itachi Uchiha's face sting.

Still, his reaction was quick enough. Just as the fist was about to hit him, he suddenly twisted aside, barely managing to evade it.

"Big brother!"

Sasuke had clearly not expected the battle to become so perilous the moment it began, and he could not help crying out.

Unfortunately, amid such a noisy environment, the highly focused Itachi Uchiha could not hear him.

Especially when Hidezawa closed in and suddenly whispered something into his ear—words that now echoed through his mind.

"Do you remember that Root ninja you once defeated?"

A newbie humbly begs for follows. Current follow numbers determine everything for a book; leaving it to marinate too long can easily kill it.

Thank you, bosses! Onz